A convicted charity fraudster has been ordered to repay thousands of pounds of stolen savings to his charity's pension scheme.

Patrick McLarry, has been ordered to repay £286,852 to the Yateley Industries for the Disabled Limited Pension and Assurance Scheme after he was prosecuted for defrauding the scheme last year.

He was also ordered to repay legal costs of £71,477 to The Pensions Regulator (TPR), who brought the confiscation hearing to Salisbury Crown Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

McLarry, 72, was previously the chief executive and chairman of Yately Industries for the Disabled and is currently serving a five-year prison sentence after stealing the money from the charity's pension scheme.

He spent the money on homes in France and Hampshire, and to pay off a personal debt.

He had admitted one charge of fraud at a court hearing in November 2019, before attempting to change his plea to not guilty.

McLarry had attempted to evade justice by forging documents, lying to TPR investigators about who owned the properties involved and refusing to hand over vital evidence.

Commenting on the decision, TPR director of enforcement, Erica Carroll, said: “McLarry abused his position to steal money from the scheme’s members, money which was supposed to help pay for their retirement. Instead, he spent the money on himself.

“He received a lengthy jail sentence for his crime and quite rightly he must now return the money he stole back to the pension scheme for the benefit of its members. If he fails to hand over the cash, he will have to serve an extra three years in jail and still have to pay up.

“TPR will not flinch from using every weapon in our arsenal to tackle pension fraudsters and will continue to protect savers’ retirements.”

The money recovered will be paid to the scheme under the trusteeship of Dalriada Trustees, the independent trustee responsible for the pension scheme.

Share Story: